24mm 2.8 Review

 For a while now, I've been wanting a good wide-angle lens. But they're so stinkin' expensive! I'd look on YouTube, but the one's that got the best reviews were over five hundred dollars. It was kind of disappointing.

And then, I found the 24mm 2.8.

The 24mm is also called a 'pancake lens', because of how small it is. It's like a 'cousin' to the 50mm 1.8. It's got a great wide angle on it, and you can also get some decent 'macro' shots as well.

Pros:

Small

Lightweight

Doesn't feel cheap

Wide angle

Good 'macro'

Smooth auto-focus

Cons:

Doesn't zoom (best for landscape photography)

Manual focus doesn't seem to work (like, at all. I have no idea why they even give you the option to switch to manual focus)

The f/stop is only 2.8 (not a big con, but still...)
No image stabilizer (IMO, since it's so small it doesn't matter that much; but some may still see it as a con)

I've only had this lens for a day, but I really like it so far. To give y'all an idea of the angle, I set up the tripod and took some pictures. I did my best to not move the tripod at all, and made sure the camera was set exactly the same for both lenses.

24mm lens, f/2.8, shutter speed 1/180, ISO 200

50mm lens, f/2.8, shutter speed 1/180, ISO 200

24mm, cropped to 79% (I was going to crop it to 100%, but I didn't know how. I think there's math involved, and I'm too lazy to figure it out right now).

50mm, cropped to 79%

Screw On Macro Lenses Review

(Everything said below is my opinion, based on my experience with the lens.)


I'm very pleased with these lenses. I use the +4 more than any of the others, because for me it's the perfect size for closeups.

(From bottom to top) +One, +Two, +Four, +Ten. As I said above, the four is best in my opinion. It's incredibly rare for me to use the one and two, but the ten is pretty good. I got these in a kit as a birthday present to myself, so I don't know exactly how much they cost separately, but I think I can safely say that they're a great purchase for a beginner. =)

How to Remove A Filter That's Stuck on Your Lens

For the longest time, I had a filter on my kit lens which I couldn't remove. I didn't know if I had put it on incorrectly, or if it was too tight, but whatever the case, it wasn't coming off. So, I Googled it. And guess what? As usual, Google had an answer for me :P.

To remove a stuck filter, you put a thick rubber band around the filter and gently twist, using your fingertips. If you grasp the filter too hard, then when you release it to get a better grip it will make it tighten even more. Also, you might crack it.

(Here are some pictures for a visual.) 

So, big rubber band...

Over the filter...

Gently screw off with fingertips. It really works. =)

   

My Cleaning Gear

When it comes to cleaning my camera, there are really only three things that I use.

The brush is incredibly soft, and perfect for gently swiping away sand and other foreign objects without scratching the glass. The thing in the middle probably has a name, but I don't know what it is. I use it to blow away anything that I can't reach with the brush. It also gets things out of cracks and crannies that the brush can't reach. And then of course, there's the typical soft cloth. Sometimes I use a liquid concoction that was in a kit I bought off of Amazon, but for the most part, I only use what's below. =) 

50mm 1.8 Lens Review

(Everything said below is my opinion, based on my experience with the lens.)

50mm 1.8

PROS:

Light

High quality pictures

Low aperture of 1.8 (obviously)

CONS:

No zoom

No image stabilizer

Angle isn't very wide

CONCLUSION:

So, the pros and cons even up, but I still think that the pros outweigh the cons. The picture quality is tack sharp, so that you can zoom in while editing and the quality will still be beautifully clear. It's light, does very well in low light, though you still sometimes have to use a tripod to keep from shaking, because there's no image stabilizer. But for $150, this is a fantastic lens for a beginner. It's my favorite out of all of my lenses. =)

55-250mm Lens Review

(Everything said below is my opinion, based on my experience with the lens.)

55-250mm Lens

PROS:

Image stabilizer

Decent zoom

Not too heavy

Good picture quality

CONS:

Lowest aperture is 4.0

While zoom is decent, it's not great for taking bird pictures

CONCLUSION:

This is a great lens, in my opinion. I've done a family photoshoot with it, and I'm very pleased with how the pictures turned out. I can't remember how much this one cost, but I think it's worth buying. Link to the family photoshoot below, for a visual.

http://denslens.blogspot.com/2016/06/family-photo-shoot.html

75-300mm Lens Review

(Everything said below is my opinion, based on my experience with the lens.)

75-300mm Lens

PROS:
Long zoom
Decent picture quality when held steady and not zoomed out too much

CONS:
No image stabilizer
Poor picture quality if zoomed out all the way
Heavy
Lowest aperture is 4.0

CONCLUSION:
Not my favorite lens. In fact, the last time I used it was to try and get some pictures of frogs in our lake, and the quality was so bad I didn't even try to edit the pics. I would not suggest anyone buy this lens. And the fact that I blew $200 on it when I could have gotten something so much better is rather disappointing; but I learned from it, and now you know what lens not to get. =)

Kit Lens Review

(Everything said below is my opinion, based on my experience with the lens.)   

Kit Lens

PROS:

Light

Comes with camera (unless you're just buying the camera body)

Has a mirror stabilizer

Wide angle

CONS:

Feels cheap, like it could easily break

Picture quality is poor 

(which doesn't mean you won't take great pictures, there's just an obvious difference in quality when compared to other more expensive lenses)

Rather small zoom

Lowest aperture is 4.0

CONCLUSION:

While the kit lens is considered 'cheap' and has 'rather poor' picture quality, that doesn't mean that you can't take incredible pictures with it. Sure, it's not typically a professional's 'go-to' lens, but when you're first starting out, it's perfect for your needs. Here's a link to a blog by Zhang Jingna, a professional photographer who started out with a 350D and the kit lens it came with. She has proven with her photography that you can take amazing photos with a kit lens. So as you add lenses to your collection, don't throw your kit lens away. =)

http://blog.zhangjingna.com/2010/10/equipment-and-where-money-comes-from.html#.V5phMvkrKM8

Double Exposure

You can do double exposure in GIMP as well. Double exposure (or multiple exposure) is a photographic technique that combines two different images into a single image. My picture down below (while I'm very pleased with how it came out) is very tame compared to some other double exposure images I've seen. =)

Editing with GIMP

I've been told that GIMP is just as good as Photoshop. Well, I've never used Photoshop, so I wouldn't know which is better, but I can honestly tell you that GIMP is quite a useful editor (plus it's free so...you can't beat that ;P).

One thing that the editors I've been using have lacked is a good sun-glow filter. There are some pictures that just need a soft, pretty, bright golden light. Well, I just found out how to use GIMP to make a sun-glow effect. So below are some pictures so that you can see most of the editing process. =D

This is the pictures I started out with. My little friend is looking cute, but the background is ugly. Wet, muddy road, ugly pole, ugly trailer, ugly colors....just ugly. So......

   

Using GIMP, I got rid of the background! Now it's just my cute little friend. =D

This is the new background I chose.

And here it is all put together! I added the shadows under her feet, brightened her right side a little, scaled her to the size I wanted and added the sun-glow. I was going to take away the flares, but my 'undo' chances were gone so I was unable to, and I didn't feel like redoing the whole thing. But I'm still pleased with how this turned out, and now I know how to get a sun-glow in GIMP! =D =D